RIVERSIDE: Ontario, LA agree to suspend airport lawsuit

Ontario’s lawsuit to regain control of Ontario International Airport from Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports was placed on temporary hold Thursday, Dec. 5, to allow the cities to try to settle the matter out of court.

In Riverside County Superior Court on Thursday morning, Los Angeles’ lawyer Steven S. Rosenthal told Judge Gloria Connor Trask that the parties had agreed late Wednesday to stay the lawsuit until Jan. 31 while they try to reach a resolution, said Andre J. Cronthall, Ontario’s lawyer.

Ontario has been seeking local control of the Inland airport since 2010, after several years of declining passenger numbers. The downward trend has continued and by the end of this year, the airport is expected to see 3.9 million passengers, 42 percent less than in 2007 — and fewer travelers than in 1986.

Representatives of the two cities had been negotiating the fate of the airport for months, but the talks stalled last summer. Ontario filed the lawsuit alleging breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in July.

The lawsuit caused a chill between the two cities, with Los Angeles breaking off talks.

Then-LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa later offered to resume negotiations, but only if Ontario would drop the lawsuit. Ontario declined.

Under new Mayor Eric Garcetti, relations apparently have thawed, providing an opening for talks to resume.

Soon after taking office June 30, Garcetti replaced all but one of the LA Board of Airport Commissioners. He retained Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey, who has opposed returning the Inland airport to Ontario.

The lawyers must file a formal motion to stay the lawsuit, but the judge indicated she will be receptive to signing the order, Cronthall said.